Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Mulls Dissolving Lower House on Jan. 23

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:26 JST, January 10, 2026

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also serves as the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, began on Friday considering dissolving the House of Representatives at the start of the ordinary Diet session scheduled to be convened on Jan. 23, government sources said. The resulting lower house election would likely be held in February.

The prime minister appears to have judged that, with the ruling coalition of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party holding a minority in the House of Councillors, it is necessary to gain momentum for policy implementation by winning the lower house election.

As for election scheduling, two ideas have emerged. One would have official campaigning start on Jan. 27, with voting on Feb. 8. The other would have campaigning begin on Feb. 3, with voting on Feb. 15.

The prime minister aims for a “strong economy” and “responsible and proactive public finances,” and she wants to receive voters’ endorsement for her economic agenda.

The fiscal 2025 supplementary budget, which was passed during the extraordinary Diet session last year to fund comprehensive economic measures, exceeded ¥18 trillion in general account expenditures, the largest figure after the COVID-19 pandemic. The prime minister seeks to promote a growth strategy that fundamentally strengthens the supply structure in domestic industries through strategic fiscal spending. Takaichi will likely prioritize strategic investment to enhance resilience against potential crises in areas directly linked to national strength.

During the campaigning, constitutional revision is also expected to be a key election issue. In their coalition agreement, the LDP and JIP explicitly stated they will draft a constitutional revision bill to create a contingency clause, aiming to submit it to the Diet within fiscal 2026.

The prime minister’s consideration of dissolving the lower house in January likely comes from the Cabinet’s consistently high approval ratings. According to Yomiuri Shimbun nationwide surveys, the approval rating stood at 71% when the Cabinet was formed last October and remained above 70% through December when the rating stood at 73%.

The parliamentary group led by the LDP holds 199 seats in the lower house. Combined with the JIP, the coalition has a total of 233 seats — the slimmest possible majority in the 465-seat lower house. However, the coalition parties continue to be a minority in the House of Councillors.

The LDP has secured cooperation from the Democratic Party for the People to pass its fiscal 2026 budget proposal. However, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the DPFP’s main support organization, opposes the party joining a coalition soon, and the prime minister has expressed concern about unstable Diet management.

Following her Diet response regarding whether a potential Taiwan contingency could amount to a survival-threatening situation, China’s economic pressure on Japan has continued to intensify. The prime minister appears to seek to reinforce her political foundation by winning the election to break the deadlock in deteriorating Japan-China relations.

On the opening day of an ordinary Diet session, it is customary for a prime minister to give a policy speech following the opening ceremony. There have been only four cases in which the lower house was dissolved on the day that the Diet was convened for an ordinary Diet session: in 1966, 1986, 1996 and 2017. In each case, the prime minister at the time did not deliver a speech.

If the lower house is dissolved this time, Takaichi’s first policy speech at the beginning of the ordinary Diet session after taking office would be postponed, although she did deliver a speech expressing her basic policy stances during the extraordinary Diet session held from October through December, at the beginning of which she was elected prime minister.

Forgoing a policy speech at the start of the ordinary Diet session could raise questions about consistency with her Cabinet’s policy of prioritizing measures against rising prices, and opposition could emerge from both ruling and opposition parties regarding the dissolution of the lower house.